Gate mechanism



Sept. 25, 1928.

T. BRADY GATE MECHAN'ISM' 3 Sheets-Sheet Filed July 10, 1926 ATTORNEY (M(EMA- INVENTOR FIG. 6

Sept. 25, 1928.

T. BRADY GATE MECHANISM Filed July 10, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 11 (8M4:INVENTOR r I l l l lil l Y 0' ATTORNEY apparent from the speclfication,taken in the gate arranged in two sections and pro- Patented Septi 25,1928.,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,"-

rrnomas BRADY, OE

211W, 0]! JERSEY CITY, NEW

EAST ORANGE, NEW JERsEY, AssreNOE 'ro OTIS ELEVATOR cou- JERSEY, ACORPORATION or NEW JEBsEY,

GATE MECHANISM.

Application filed July 10, 1926. Serial no. 121,572.

a gate which is capable of'covering a passageway of any width in anenclosure when in closed position and of uncovering the entirepassageway when moved into open position. v Another feature is toprovide a gate, in the operation of which, danger'of injury to personsisreduced to a minimum.

- Still another feature resides in the provision of a gate capable ofbeing moved around a corner on a trajectory having an exceedinglyshortradius with the application of .but very little force. i

A fourth feature is the provision of a gate of the above character whichis of simple yet rigid construction and which may be cheaplymnaufactured and installed.

Other features and advantages will become connection with theaccompanying drawings wherein the invention is embodied in; concreteform. 1

In the drawings: V

Figure 1 is a view in elevation, with parts broken away, of a gate showninelosed "fosition on an elevator car, the car being illus. trated insection along line 1-1 of Figure ,2;

Figure 2 isa plan view of the same, with parts omitted in order toillustrate certain structural details and with the gate shown in openposition;

Figure 3 is an enlarged view, with parts broken away, illustratingstructural details of the gate;

Figure 4 is a view in partial section taken along broken line 44 ofFigure 3; 1 I 1 Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentallplan view of aportion of the gate, illustrating the manner in which the gate turnsaround a corner; 4

Figure 6 is a detail view of a rail bumper and its mounting; v

Figure 7 is a plan view, with parts omitted in order to illustratecertain structural details, of the gate in Open position and abuttingthe car frame;

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 7, with the gate arranged in twosections, illustrating the manner in which these sections extend is inopen position;

' rods or tubes 10 Each hinge pair of. lugs 14.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary View of the gate of Figure 8, with thesections in their closed positions and provided with mechanism forcausing, upon movement of one section, corresponding movement of theother section;

Flgure 10 is a view in front elevation of the gate of Figure 1 providedwith power Operating mechanism, the parts being in gate open positlon;Figure 11 is an enlarged view inside elevatlon of the power operatingmechanism illustrated in Figure 10; I

Figure 12 is a View taken along line 12-12 of Figure 11, certain partsbeing shown in section to illustrate structural details; Figure 13 is anenlarged detail in partial sectlon, taken along line 13-13 of Figure 10;

Figure 14 is an enlarged detail with parts Figure 15 is an enlargeddetail, taken along Y theline 15--15 of Figure 12; and

Figure 16 is a view in front elevation of vided with power operatingmechanism, the parts being in gate closed position. I

iThe form of gate illustrated in Figures 1 to 5 is'composed of aplurality of vertical connected by hinge members 1. The hinge membersare preferably arranged in three rows, one row at the top of the gate,one at the bottom and one in the middle. member comprises a yoke 12, apair of lugs13 extending outwardly therefrom and a similar butoppositely extending A wider space is provided between the, lugs hingemember to extend therebetween. Apertures 15 are rovided in lugs 13 andsimilar apertures 16 in lu'gs'14. With a pair of adj acent hinge membersin assembled relation, the apertures 15 and 16 are in vertical alignmentso as to receive one of thetubes- 10. These hinge members are positionedon the tube by a sleeve extending between lugs 14. This sleeve issecured to the tube by means of a pin 61 passing through the sleeve andthe tube, at a point midway of the length of the sleeve. Lugs 13 and 14have a turning fit on the tube 10.

The two end tubes and one or more of the intermediate tubes 10,depending upon the width of the gate, extend upwardly into hangers 18."A wide gate might have several 13 than between the lugs' 1 1 in order topermit the lugs 14 on the adjacent intermediate .hangers. shown inFigures 3 and 4, a boss 20, formed on the bottom of hanger'18, isprovided wit-h a vertical aperture 21 into which the tube 10- extends.The

tionally mounted roller 27'is supported be- I way 38. Each pintle 29(see an upper portion extending into a tube. This, oove about tween thesides of the hanger as by a screw 28 threaded into theside 25 of thehanger.

This roller rides on the track 30. The boss 1 20 extends upwardly inthe'form of lugs at each side of the track 30 to form a guide for thehanger 18. These lugs are convexly curved on the side facing the track,as illustrated in Figure 5, to allow the hanger to ass around a corner.The track 30 acts hot as a support and as a guide for'the gate. The

intermediate tubes not secured to hangershave guide pintles 68 insertedin their upper ends. Each guide pintle 68 has a cylindrical shank (seeFigure 3) extending downward-' 1y into the tube 10. The shank has aturning fit within the tube thus permitting the guide pintle to swivelon'the top of the tube., The guide pintle has upwardly extending lugs 69similar to the lugs on the boss 20 of a hanger. These lugs presentconvex faces to the track, as illustrated in Figure 5, and serve toguide the tube 10 along the track.

As shown in Figure 2, the track 30 extends across-the front, bends atthe front left-hand corner and continues along the side of the car tothe rear the'reof.- The track is support ed an intervals along the pathLust described in an suitable manner, as by H ing t roughthe track 30,spacing members 62, and angle bars 23 secured to the top of the carandextending' across the front of the car and along the side thereof.The lower ends of the tubes 10 carry pintles 29which extend downwardlinto a guide I igure 4) has upper portion has an annular midway of itslength into whic the tube is crimped, thus securely holding such portionwithin the tube. The guide way 38 has the same contour as the overheadtrack 30 and is formed in a plate member 40 which is secured to the carfloor by means of screws 42. This platemember is cut away at the gateopening to receive the car sill in Figure 4. Sleeves 46 43 as shownextend between lugs 13 of the right end hinge member in each row and aresecured to the right end tube 10 by means of pins passing through thesleeves and tube.

Bumpers 47 are secured to sleeves 46 midway of their length and engagethe side of the car olts 31. p855? when the gate is fully'c losed.Bumpers, similar to bumpers 47, are secured to supports 50 mounted atthe rear of the car in the line of travel of the gate, these bumpersengaging sleeves 60 of the left end hinge members when the gate is.completely opened. In lieu of thesebumpers, a bumper; 64,mounted asillustrated in Figure 6, may be used to form-"a 'stop for the gate,particularly where the gate, in its fullyopened position, does notextendv to the rear ofthe car. Referring.

to Figure 6, the support 66 for the bumper 64 is. adjustably mounted ontrack 30, the

It is to be understood that, if desired, the

track and rollers may be arranged at the bottom of the at the top.

A cylindrical handle 70 is provided on the right end tube 10, preferablybelow themids dle hinge member. This handle surrounds the tube and isclamped thereon as by screws 7 2-passing through the halves of thehandle.

The handle comprises a central tubular portion having thinwalls topermit the insertion of the hand between the handle and the next tube.At the ends of this tubular por tion, the handle is formed into thickbeads through which screws 72 pass. The handle protects-the surface ofthe tube from being tarnished by. constant contact with the hand -of:the operator and is preferably made. of a composition material such asbakelite. More than one handle may be employed, if desired,

"to facilitate the operating of the gate. Such anarrangement wouldbeparticularly desi'rable inv case of wide cars. In Figure 1 the.

gate is illustrated as provided with an additional handle 71 secured toan intermediate tube. I

With the gate thus arranged for manual operation'and in closedo'sitionas illustrated 'in- Figure 1, to open-t e' gate the operator maygras the handle'jl on the intermediate": tube, pul ing the gateto theleft. The left end tube 10 is illustrated in Figure 1 as substantiallyon the bend of the track. Upon movement of the gate to the left, thelugs on the left end hanger, extendingv upwardly on each side of thetrack, cause the hanger to follow the curved-portion of the track aroundto the side'of the car. Thus the tube, carried by the hanger is guidedaround the corner, aided by the coaction of the pintle 29 and guideway38. Likewise the succeeding tubes not secured to hangers are guidedaround the corner by the coaction of the lugs 69 of the gate with theguide way disposed guide pintles 68 and the track at the top andaes'aaaa the bottom. Figure illustrates the difierent positions whichthe various parts may assume. As previously explained, the left end tubeis free to turn in lugs-I4 of the left end hinge members and likewiseeach succeeding tube' is free'to turn in both lugs 13, and 14 ofsuccessive hinge members. Tubes not provided with'hangers are alsofree'to turn on their I guide pintles 68. The movement of the leftrelative turning between this tube and its end tube' around thecorner ispermitted by hinge members and relative turning between these hingemembers'and the adjacent tube.

The successive tubes and hinge members act in a simllar manner duringthe continued movement of the gate around the corner. As

the handle 71 of the intermediatetube. nears the left side of thecar,.the operator releases this handle and'graspshandle 7 0 on the rightend tube to complete .the movement of the gate. Thetrack 30 and guideway38 guide,- the gatebetween the side of the car and thecar. frame 76.Upon the gate reaching its open position, itis stopped by the engagementof the sleeves 60of the left end-hinge the car with the gate inopen'position. The.

gate may be closed b reverse operation. The operatorgrasps't e handle 70of the right end tube, pulling the gate to the right.

As theintermediate portion of the gate moves to the front of the car,the operator. may re lease the handle .70 and complete the gate clo'singoperation by means of the handle 71.

As the. gate reaches'itsclosed position, it is stopped in a similarmanner by the en' age-, ment of bumpers/l7 with the'right-han side ofthe car. Due to the construction of the hanger bosses 20 and guidepintles 68, the gate is prevented from leaving the track due to faultyoperation, such as lifting of the gate.

The portion of thecar wall, illustrated as extending around to-thefront, may be omitted,-if desired. and the gate may-be arranged to openall the. we aroun side. In thisevent, shoul the car not be deep enough,the track and guideway maybe extended around another'corner at the'rearof the car so as to allow for the-movement.

Should the car be too deep, a bumper of the type shown in Figure6,'already described, may be used. Although the gate has been describedas arranged on an elevator ear con trolled by an operator, it is to beunderstood that it is equally adapted for cars which are controlled bythe passengers themselves. Furthermore, the gate may be used on elevatorcars of the freight type as well as those employed for passengerservice. 'Also, it is of material suitable'to abto the -tra'ted in to beunderstood that the. hatchwaydoors located at the various landings maybe constructed and arranged in a similar manner.

It is to be noted that the positioning of the hinge members on the tubesby the sleeves 60 permits each hingemember .to be mountedso as to befree to turn on the tubes which extend therethrough, resulting in largeradial.

bearing surfaces between the tubes and hinge members. The effectivenessof these bearing surfaces is greatly increased by having the hingemember lugs considerably spaced lengthwise of the tubes. The spacing ofthese lugs, in conjunction with the fact that the apertures providedtherein are of such size as to permit the free turning and movement ofthe tubes, eliminate such friction as might be caused by misalignmentofthe apertures of the lugs or deflection of the tubes during operation.It is to befurther noted that" tubes intermediate the hangers aresupported from these hangers by the sleeves 6O acting through the hingemembers. This construcquent decrease in friction, but also permits theuse of the swivel guide pintles for these mum, permitting its operationwiththeapplication of but very little force. Y

It has been found in actual practice that the gate is practically silentin operation.

Due to the fact that the tubes are maintainedseparated at all times, thedanger of injury to the operator or passengers, such as pinching of thehands or fingers, is substantially eliminated. Furthermore, due to thefact that the gate uncovers the whole of the passageway into the carwhen opened, the traflio ma be handled with maximum despatch.

Xlthoughthe gate described in connection with Figures 1 to -5 inclusiveis arranged to extendto the ,rear of thecar when in open position, itmay also be arranged to extend only part way "aIOUIIdftO the side asillustends only to the car frame 7 t -when n open position. eliminationof the passageway for the gate vision ofcar space is particularlydesirable in. installations wherein I conservation of vhatchway space isextremely important. ,The

structural details of the gate are the same as those of the gatepreviously described.

Figure In this figure the gate .ex-'

This arrangement permits the 7 tion not only permits a materialreduction of the total number of hangers, with the conse- Bumpers'75,similar to bumpers 47 secured to the sleeves ofthe right end tube, maybe secured to the car frame in the path of sleeves 60 of the left endtube .to form a stop for the gate as it moves into its open position. Onthe other hand, a bumper 64, mounted as illustrated in Figure 6 andalready described,

may be used in lieu of the bumpers 5, if desired, particularly where thegate, in its fully opened position, does .not extend to the car fram 74:.

trated in Figure 7, the two sections extend only to the car frame whenthe gate is in open position. Thus a gate arranged in this mannor wouldbe particularly desirable for use where both maximum car opening andconservation of space are important factors. As shown in Figure 9, thelelt end tube of the right section of the gate and the right end tubeof'thelelt section of the gate are pro vided with guide pintles 68 attheir upper ends. 'Sleeves 7 8 similar to sleeves 46, with "theexception that they are not provided with 85 b umpers, are secured, asby pins passing through the sleeves and tube, to the left end tube ofthe right section of the gate and ex tend between the lugs 13 'of thehinge members. Sleeves 46 are secured to the right end tube of the leftsection of the gate between the lugs 13 of the hinge members. When thegate is completely closed, as shown in Figure. '9, bumpers 47 carried bythe'sleeves 46 of the left section of the gate engage the sleeves 78 ofthe right section. As in the case of the .gate arranged to extend onlypart way around to the side of the car, as described in connection withFigure 7, bumpers 75 are secured to the car frame in the'path of sleeves60, provided for each section, .to form stops for the gate as it movesinto its open position. On the other hand, bumpers mounted asillustrated in Figure 6, and already described, maybe used in lieu orbumpers 75 if desired, particularly where the in its fullyopenedposition, does not extend to the car frame.

Although each section the gate may be" operated individually, itpreferred to provide an arrangement whereby the movement of one sectionautomatically causes corresponding movement of the other. A. suitablearrangement for effecting such movement is illustrated in Figure 9."July one operating handle is provided, this handle being se= In someinstallations it may be desirable to .extending arm 88 is secured. Thelower trace of a chain 87 is fastenedto the upper end of th1s arm. Thechain 87, the tension of which is maintained constant as by a belttightener,

not shown, passesiover pulleys83 and 84: mounted as on brackets '85 and86. These brackets may be secured to the angle bar 23 so as to bepositioned-at the left and right of the car as shown. An upwardlyextending arm 90, to which the upper trace of the chain is fastened, issecured to the left hanger of the right section of the gate /Vith thegate arranged for operation as above described and in closed position asillustrated in Figure 9, to open the gate the operator may grasp thehandle 70 on the right tube of the left section oi the gate, pullingthis section to. the left. Upon movement of this section of the gate tothe left, the arm 88 and hence also the lower trace of the chain 87 willmove to the left, causingthe movement ofthe up er trace of the chain, towhich the arm 90 is astened, to the right and thus efi'ecting themovement ol the right section of the gate to the right. Thus the openingand I likewise the closing of one section of the gate will cause acorresponding movement of the other section. The handle 70 may be placedI on the right section of the gate if desired, thus efiiecting operationof the left section through movement of the right section.

Up to-this point, the gate has been described as adapted for manualoperation. However, the gate is equally adapted for power operation. Asuitable arrangement of ower operating mechanism is illustrated inigures 10 to 16 inclusive' Referring particularly to Figure 10, apneumatic gate engine carried by the car-at the top thereof andindicated as a whole by the numeral 80, actuates an operating arm 91 tomove the gate intoopen and closed positions, This arm is connected tothe gate by means of a bracket 95 through whichthe lower end of the armextends. As illustrated in Figure 13, this bracket consists of tworectangular lates 96 and 97.. These plates are formed with spac ingmembers 81 and at the four corners are provided with guide rollers 98,thus permitting tree sliding movement oi? the gate; opersting arm withinthe bracket; Plate 96 is formed I with a shank 100 which extends througha gate clamp 101,. Gate clamp lOl consistent two similar and opposedclamp members 102 and 103, These clamp members conform to the two leftend tubes of the gate and are clamped thereto by bolts 104:. The shank100 of the plate 96 is free to swivel in the gate clamp 161, beingprovided with a nut l05 on the end thereof for retaining the shank.within the clamp. The nut 105 is locked on the shank 100 as by a pin106. With igeeaaae ure 10, the gate operating arm 91 is parallel withthe tubes of the gate and is at the right Y horizontal direction for 91is adjustably .throu ofthe gate opening. At a point just above the jguide bracket the gate operating arm bends downwardly toward the rightat anthe application of the drivguide'bracket in nearly a all positionsof the angle to permit ing force to the gate.

The upper end of the gate operating arm secured to an elbow 92. Asclearly "illustrated positioned in a u-shaped recess formed in the elbowmeans of two straps 107 held tight against the gate operating arm bybolts 108 passing h the straps and elbow. By loosening these olts 108,the gate operating arm may be adjusted within the elbow 92 as desired,whereupon the bolts are again tightened, thus locking the arm inposition. The elbow 92 is pivotally supported by a screw 93 passingthrough the upright portion of the engine base plate 94." This late, asillustrated in Figure 11, is secured to an angle bar 89. This angle baris secured to an upright plate 99 which in turn is attached to angle bar23, secured to the top of the car. The elbow 92 is formed with a lug towhich the bifurcated end of a link 111 is pivotally secured as by pin112. Link 111 extends horizontally from elbow 92 toward the center ofthe car and is pivotally connected at its other end to a lever 113 bmeans of pin 114 (see Figures 10 and 12 As shown in Figure 15, lever113, at its lower end, is formed into a fork which fitsover apedestal116. The lever 113 is pivotally mounted on the pedestal as by ashaft 115 extending through the forked ends of the lever and thepedestal. The shaft is positioned in the pedestal as by a set screw 117.A portion of the lever 113 just above the bolt 114 is slotted, theportion of the lever at each side of the slot being provided with a pairof oppositely projecting lugs 109 and 119, the purpose of which willappear later. Above this slotted portion, the lever extends upwardly andis formed at its upper end with oppositely extending connection lugs 118and 120 for the piston rods of the pneumatic cylinders of the gateengine. As illustrated for piston rod 122, lug 118 is apertured toreceive a pivot bolt 121 which extends through the bifurcated end of therod.

Referrin to Figure 12, piston rod 122 extends into t e pneumatic cyinder 123 and has a piston 124 secured to the free end thereof. Piston124 is provided with a cup leather 125 which prevents theleakage ofcompressed air from the under side to the'upper side thereof.

An apertured plug in the'cylinder head 136 permits the free passage ofair into an out of the neumatic cylinder above the piston 124. ompr'ssedair may be fed to the in Figure 14, this arm is 92 and is retainedtherein by' the cylinder has a projecting tongue 152 extendingbecylinder 123 below the piston by means of the .hose 126 connected toaperture 127 in the bot-.

131 are of the same construction as piston rod 122 and plneumaticcylinder 123. Compressed air may e fed to pneumatic cylinder 131 bymeans of hose-133 connected to aperture 134 of the cylinder.

Each of the pneumatic cylinders is provided with a liquid check. Thesechecks are operated by the cylinders. acting through h the tongue andthe sides lever 113, the piston rods of the checks being pivotallyconnected by yokes 137 and 160 to the lever at lugs 109 and 119. Theyoke 137 has one end thereof between the lugs 109 of the slotted part oflever 113 and. is connected thereto by pivot bolt 138 passing throughthe lugs 109 and the yoke. The other end 0 the yoke is threaded toreceive the piston rod 140. This piston rod extends into the liquidcheck cylinder 141 and has a piston 142 secured to its free end by meansof a pin 143 extending through the piston and piston rod. The piston 142is snug-fitting within the liquid check cylinder 141 and has a bypath144therethrough provided with a ball check 145 which permits a flow ofliquid from the side of the piston to which the piston rod is connectedto the other side thereof but prevents a reverse flow of the liquid. Theliquid check cylinder 141 has a number of circumferentially spacedlongitudinal grooves in the inner wall thereof, these grooves extendingfrom the inner side of the cylinder head 146 to within a short distanceof the bottom plug 147. A bypath 148 connects one of these longitudinalgrooves with the ungrooved portion of the cylinder 141 at a pointadjoining the bottom plug 147. A needle valve 150 is threaded into theplug 151 so as to permit adj ustm'ent to vary the effective area of thebypath 148. An apertured filling plug 149 is threaded into the liquidcheck cylinder near head 146. The bottom plug 147 tween the sides of thebearing block 153 mounted on the engine base plate 94. The

liquid check cylinder is pivotally supported tau on this bearing blockby'the shaft 154 extenda ing through the tongue and the sides of theblock. As in the case of yoke 137, yoke hasone end thereof between thelugs 119 of d the slotted part of the lever 113 and is secured theretoby pivot bolt 16.1 passing through the lugs 119 and the yoke. The otherend of the same construction as piston rod140 and liquid check cylinder141.

vThe admission of compressed air to the neumatic cylinders 123 and 131is controlled y means of a valve 132. This valve is provided with aninlet pipe 128, connected to a suitable source of compressed air (notshown), and outlet pipes 159 and169, connected to hose 126 and 133respectively. The valve is provided with an operating arm 164 which ispivotally connected to one end of the link 165. Link 165 is pivotallyconnected at its other end to a lever 166 which is fixed upon a shaft167 rotatably supported by the standards 168 and 170. Thesestandards aresecured to a platform 17]. supported on an angle frame 172 attached atthe front to stiffening angles 129 and at the rear to the underside ofthe crosshead 173 of the car frame. A lever 174 is secured to "shaft167. This lever extends downwardl and has a chain 17 5 attached to itsfree on The chain 175 has its opposite end attached to a. shaft 176.This shaft is connected through reduction gearing within the casing 179to the motor 177. Adjustable stops 182 are secured upon the motor'basein positions to be engaged by a crank 183 carried b the shaft 176 tolimit the angular motion 0 the shaft. A

lever 178, also secured to shaft 167, hasa tension spring 180 attachedto its free end.

'-The other end of the tension spring 180 is attached to the frame 172.Another lever 192' is secured to shaft 167 and has a rope 193 attachedto its free end. Rope 193 extends downwardly through the top of the carand has a handle (not shown) secured to its lower end.- This handle ispositioned so that it is within easy reach of the operator.

Assume that the gate isin openposition as illustrated in Figure 10. a Inorder to cause the operation of the gate engine to close the gate, themotor 177 is energized. This may be accomplished in various ways, as forexample, in an elevator under the control of an operator within thecar,by causing the motor to be energized in response to the movement of thecar switch out of off position. The

motor, upon energization, acts through the reduction gearing to causerotative movement of shaft 176 to wind up the chain 175. Lever 174,connected to chain 175, 1s therefore swung clockwise, as viewed in thisfigure, causing a corresponding angular movement of attached shaft 167.Lever 166, secured to shaft 167, is turned with the shaft, thus raisinglink 165 and effecting anupward swinging'movement of the valve operatingarm 164. Valve 132 is thus operated to cause the admission of compressedair through hose 126 to pneuinatic cylinder 123. At the same/time hose133 is connected by the cylinder. Lever 113, connected to piston I rod122, is .thus swung about its supporting 1 Shaft 115. As aresult, theelbow 92, being connected to lever 113 by link 111, is swung clockwiseabout its pivotal screw 93. Thus the gate operating arm 91, carried bythe elbow 92, also swings clockwise and, sliding in guide bracket 95,eflects the closing operatlon of the gate. The position of the gateoperating arm with the gate in closed position is indicated in dottedlines. Inasmuch as pneumatic cylinder- 131 is connected to theatmosphere on both sides of its piston during this operation, piston rod130 offers no re-, sistance to the closing movement.

At the beginning of the closing movement, the liquid check piston 142 isat its innermost position in liquid check cylinder 141, as shown nFigure 12. In this position the piston has its inner end in contact withthe bottom plug 147 and its cylindrical surface in contact with theungrooved portion of the cylinder wall. As piston 142 starts to moveaway from the bottom plug 147, the reduced pressure resulting in thespace between the inner end of the piston 142 and the plug 147 causesthe ball check 145 to open. This permits liquid toflow into this spacefrom the side of piston 142 to which the piston rod is attached throughthe bypath in the piston. At the.

same time a limited amount of liquid flows into this space through thebypath 148. Thus the resistance offered to the initial closing.

of the liquid check piston within cylinder 163.

The, action of this piston within its cylinder to retard the movement ofthe gate at the end of the gate closing operation is the same as theaction of liquid check'piston 142 within cylinder 141 to retard themovement of the gate at the end of the gate opening operation. It isbelieved that, inasmuch -as the structure of piston 142 and cylinder141-is illustrated in section, the retarding operation will be morereadily understood by an explanation of the action of this piston andcylinder. It will be assumed, therefore, that the gate is being opened.The piston 142, therefore, is moving toward the right, as viewed inneeaaae Figure 12.1 While the piston is moving in the grooved portion ofthe cy1inder',the liquid moves freely in the the piston to the other,permitting free movement of the gate toward its open position. As thepiston enters the ungrooved portion'of the cylinder, its movement, andtherefore that of-the gate, is "immediately retarded. This retardationis due to the inability of the liquid to continue to pass around thepiston and to the action of the ball check 145. This check prevents theflow ofliquid trapped between the piston and the bottom plug .147through the piston bypath 144 into the grooved portion of the cylinder.The flow of this trapped liquid to the other side of the pistontherefore must beby way of the byv path 148 and, as-this passage isrestricted by the needle valve 150, this flow occurs very slowly.- Thusthis piston and the gate are retarded intheir movement. The piston, thusrestrained, moves very slowly as it continues in motion-and is finallybrought to a stop as it engages the bottom'plug 147'; The gate,therefore, is brought to rest easily and quietly and yet within aminimum of time. Thus, in

the gate closing operation, as the gate'nears' its closed position, 1tis retarded by the action of the liquid check piston within cylinder 163in the same manner as the above described action of piston 142 incylinder141 during the .133 to pneumatic cylinder 131. time hose 126 isconnected to the mufier 181 link 111 and elbow gate opening operation.

The gate opening tion of motor 177, the tension sprin 180, actingthrough lever 17 8,'tur ns the shaft 167, and causes levers 166 and 174to revolve in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 10.1.The revolving of lever '174 moyes chain 17 5 to the right, causing 1t tounwind from shaft 176. The resulting movement of this shaft actingthroughthe reduction gearing within casing 179 causes the reverserotative movement of oflever-166 moves link 165 downwardly, as viewed inFigure 10, to actuate the connected valve operating arm 164 intoposition to cause the admission of compressed air through hose At thesame thus permitting the escape of the compressed air in pneumaticcylinder 123. The pressure upon the piston within pneumatic cylinder-131 causes piston rod 130 to swing lever 113 about its supporting shaft115. Connected 92 arethus actuated, effecting', through movement of gateoperating arm 91 the opening of the gate. I The gate is checked at theend of its opening movement by piston 142 entering the ungrooved portionof liquid check cylinder 141 in the manner already described. Noresistanceto this 0 ening movement isofiered by the action 0 the liquidcheck piston within cylinder 163, the action being the same as thatdescribed tor grooves fromone side ofoperationis similar to thegateclosing operation. Upon deenergiza-- motor 177. The revolving piston142 within check cylinder 141 during the gate closing operation.

The compressed air supply to the gate enbreakage of the supply mainsortrouble with the compressor. In this event the gate may be operated byhand. In both of the two positions assumed by the valve. operating arm164, one or the other of the pneumatic cylin-. ders 123and 131 isconnected through valve 132 to the atmosphere. At the time one cylinderis connecte to the atmosphere the other gine may fail owing to suchcauses as the isconnected by the valve 132 to the supply mains. In theevent that the air pressure n the mainsfails, no resistance can beoffered by, the air within the mains to the movement of thespistonwithin the cylinder connected to the mains. Therefore hand operation pfthe gatewill cause the pistons within the pneumtic cylinders to slideidly within these cylinders without offering any resistance to themanual operation. The liquidv checks will operate to check the gate ateach end of its movement'just as in the power operation.

In the eventth'at the electric current supplied to the motor 177 shouldfail, thegate may still be operated. This is made possible by the manualoperation of valve 132. 132 is biased to gate opening position b thespring 180. Therefore, as described ahove, upon the deenergization ofmotor 177 the spring 180 will cause the'gate to open. To

close the gatethe operator grasps the handle connected with the rope 193and pulls the lever 192 downwardly. Thus the shaft 167 Valve is turnedagainst the resistance ofiered by the Spring closing of the gate.

The gate engine may 160 upon their respective check piston rods therebyefiec'ting a corresponding variation in the permissible stroke ofthepneumatic 180 and the valve operating arm 164 is actuated as abovedescribed to cause the be accommodated to 'varlous widths of gateopenings by changing the position of the threaded yokes 137 and cylinderpistons and in the movement of the gate operating arm 91.

It is to be understood that motor 177 may] be employed also to controlthepoweroper'ation of the various hatchway doors. In such instance aretiring cam, carried by the car,

is employed to efiect the operation of the controlling valves for thevarious door operatmay be of thesame construction as the gate alreadydescribed.

This-pneumatic gate engine may beused to operate the two-way or centeropening arranged gate in the manner illustrated in 'Figme 16. In thisfigure the lever 188 connected to the piston rods of the pneumaticcylinders is keyed to its supporting shaft'l90. This shaft has a crankarm 184 secured-thereto.-

Links 185 and 186 are pivotally connected to the ends of crank arm 184and to gate operating arms. 187 and 189 respectively. The gate Operatingarms for convenience of illus tration are shown as pivoted directly onthe engine base plate 191 but it is obvious that these gate operatingarms may be carried by elbowssimilar to elbow 92. In operation it willbe noted that the swinging of thecrank arm 184 moves the links 185 and186 in opposite directions, thus effecting the desired motion' of the,two sections of the gate.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this inventioncould be madewithout'departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawingsshall be-interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What isclaimed is: I

1. A- gate comprising, a plurality of paraL lel verticalmembers, aplurality of hinges for 1 connecting said members together, said hingesbeing -arranged in a plurality of horizontal 'rows; and a plurality ofmembers, secured to the vertical members and movable with re spect tothe hinges, for positioning the hinges on the vertical members.

2. A gate comprising, adjacent vertical members, ahinge memberconnecting said members, said hinge member being provided with aperturesthrough which the vertical members extend, and a sleeve secured to oneof,

the vertical members for positioning the hinge member on said verticalmember.

" 3: A gate comprising, a plurality of spaced 4 vertical tubes,supporting'hangers attached to certain of said tubes, hinge membersconnecting and spacing said tubes, and sleeves secured to the tubes,said sleeves serving to -posit1on the hinge members on the tubes.

- 4., In combination; an elevator car; a corrtinuous track secured tosaid car and extending across the front and along aside thereof; and agate comprising a plurality of vertical members, hangers supportingcertain of said members, said'hangers having rollers riding on thetrack, hinges for securing the adjacent rollers arranged to rideon thetrack, a plurality of hinge members, arranged-in a plurality of rows,for connecting the adjacent tubes, a plurality of sleeve membersattached to the tubes for positioning the hinge mem-' bers thereon; anda channel secured to the floor of'the car into which the pintles extend,said channel extending "across the front and alongsaid side of the carin vertical align- ,ment with said track.

'6. In combination; an elevator car; a track secured to said car at thetop and extending across the front and along thesides thereof;

a gate having a plurality of sections each section comprising aplurality of vertical tubes, hangers secured to the upper ends ofcertain of the tubes, said hangers having rollers arranged to ride onthe track, a plurality of hinge members, arranged in a plurality ofrows, for connecting adjacent tubes, and a plurality of sleeve membersattached to'the tubes for positionin the; hinge members thereon; and aguide fbr the lower ends of the tubes secured to the floor of the carand extending across the front and along the sides of the car invertical alignment with said track.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

' THOMAS BRADY.

